Old trouble at Alexandria's new library

As the sun sets over Egypt tonight, a cluster of presidents, monarchs and pop stars will walk into a building designed to represent the sum of human knowledge, as the great library of Alexandria reopens 1,500 years or more after its demise.

In keeping with the reputation of the Ptolemies who built the original in 290BC, no effort will be spared as the world's first globally sponsored archive is inaugurated.

In appreciation of Iraq's £13m donation, a delegation from Baghdad has been given prime seating in the ornate reading room for the ceremony, next to officials from Britain and the US and the queens of Spain and Jordan.

"This library will be a beacon," said Ismail Serageldin, the complex's director. "It has been the fruit of long labours and will represent universal Egypt at its best."

The £130m project was initiated more than a decade ago, amid high hopes that the Biblioteca Alexandrina would recapture the spirit of the city's ancient seat of learning.

The original great library's collection of some 700,000 papyrus scrolls, including works by Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles represented the first time knowledge was collected and codified by scribes.

The home of Euclid and Archimedes, it was here that scholars calculated the circumference of the Earth, mapped the stars and discovered the power of steam.

For the 250 years that the academy thrived, it set itself the task of collating the entire sum of knowledge about the universe and everything in it.

The modern Egyptian government and Unesco, which sponsored the venture, were aware they had a hard act to follow. The result is an imposing building with 11 waterfall-style floors and a tilted roof symbolising the rising sun on the shores of the Mediterranean. With space for 2,000 readers and 8m books, the new library boasts the biggest reading room in the world.

Although historians still argue over the cause of the original library's disappearance - it was burned during an attack by Julius Caesar, and it was targeted by the emperor Aurelian, fourth century Christians and seventh century Arabs - they agree that its cardinal sin was to contain too much knowledge that offended too many people.

In an echo, the new library is riven with dispute over what its content should be. Egypt's fondness for censorship has meant that rows have already erupted over its book collection policy. Critics accuse the government of President Hosni Mubarak of failing to stand up to Islamist pressure. One Alexandrian Greek writer, who asked not to be named, said: "My latest book can't even be published in Egypt because it questions God."

Others have questioned the cost of the project at a time of rising poverty in Egypt. Hisham Kassem, publisher of the Cairo Times, said many believed the money could have been better spent on social and educational programmes in a country plagued by illiteracy.

When the building opens to the public on Sunday, it will have just 200,000 volumes on its shelves - not the 1m-plus many had envisioned.

Moreover, among its collection are obsolete reference books: during today's ceremony, President Hosni Mubarak will be sitting within view of stack 7C, which is graced with the likes of The Guide to British Directories, 1953.

Mr Serageldin dismissed criticism that the library is intellectually impoverished. "The number of books we have is really not very important," he said. "We have the only backup copy of the internet archive between 1996 and 2001, which has 10 billion pages. We live in a digital age. Virtual knowledge will be our strength."

Layla Abdel Hady, the chief librarian, said books deemed potentially dangerous will be kept under lock and key. "What's the point of antago nising people unnecessarily? Our board of trustees is international - it will decide which books should or should not be here. Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses will not be a priority of ours to have."

The hope is that the library will attract international scholars and help resurrect Egypt's only city to face Europe. Standing on the supposed site of the ancient beacon of learning, it is hoped the new library will, at least, attract a new brand of bookworm tourist.